Dwayne,
I appreciate you posting all of this up as it is something I've been interested in for quite a while.
One thing I'll caution you on is the PAWS BM unit. I had one and the "anodizing" appeared to be pretty poor, as it rubbed off rather easily.
The easy solution was to pick up a can of
Wheeler Engineering's Cerama-Coat and spray/bake it on.
Cool project. I call 'em "winter sanity projects," though this one was a bit too early to fit the bill completely
.
Grace and peace to you and your family this New Year!
